Posts by Kate Swenson

Someone once told me that my husband and I had a third and fourth children as replacements for our oldest son. See the little one on the left there with the mischievous smile? And the little princess in the yellow dress? Those two. I assume they wrote that comment to hurt me. Or to remind me what a crappy mom I am. Or maybe they were just angry and miserable. Who knows I guess. What a ridiculous statement though. A replacement child. I’m not sure why we would ever replace…

Last night after putting my four kids to bed, I found myself staring at this picture from across my living room. Cooper was 8. Sawyer was 6. And my third was just a few days old. The perfect photo of three brothers. Except, it wasn’t perfect. Not in anyway. Cooper refused to touch the baby. He was very scared of him. The baby had been home 7 days at that point and Cooper had yet to really even acknowledge him. He refused to lie down when the photographer asked. He…

What is love? Or even a love story? I guess we all know the traditional one. The stereotypical one.But I know a better one.A friendship.My son Cooper is 14 years old. He is what they call…nonspeaking. See, at three years old they told me he had autism. And then around age six the professionals told me he would most likely never speak. And somewhere along that way, a daycare provider told me he would never make a friend. I’ll never forget it. It’s one of those moments who made me…

There is a saying that is said at one time or another to every parent. This too shall pass. I remember being told those words as I held each of my newborns, exhausted from cluster feeding and lack of sleep. Again during the never ending messes that kids make. During potty training woes and tantrums over blue cups and the wrong shoes. And I guess in most cases it’s true right? The hard moments do pass. Usually. Babies start sleeping. Messes stop. Little humans learn to communicate. Kids get more…

This picture. The older brother watching the younger brother play goalie. Probably seems like nothing special. But it is. It’s hugely special. It’s a diagnosis of autism for the older one. The younger one learning alongside him. It’s years of hard work and practice. It’s deep breaths and waiting patiently. It’s noise and sound and cold. It’s also a family, all together, watching a hockey game. I don’t know a lot about autism. I am no expert. I can’t tell you the mysteries of my son for sure. Nor can…